The Serpentine's Revenge

Chapter Two

At the Palace of Azuria

King Crimson of Azuria sat on his throne, next to his beautiful wife, Allura. Both dressed in matching navy colours, the two were truly dressed like rulers. Crimson’s finger tapped on the metal throne as he waited. He was told that there was urgent news for him to hear, and he was ready to hear it. He had other businesses to attend to. For example; taxes, the knight apprentices, et cetera. He was speaking to Allura about this when the doors of the throne room boomed open. Footsteps followed shortly, and a knight knelt before them both. His name, Crimson did not remember. He did not need to remember.

“Derek Klinea, at your service, your Majesties,” He said, nodding to both the king and the queen. The light caught on his reddish hair. “I regret to be the one who brings you the grave news.”

Crimson raised his eyebrows. “Then speak, good soldier. I don’t have all day,”

Standing up, Derick Klinea told them. “Your esteemed General, Karlen Bellaren is dead. He has been killed.”

“How did this come to be?” Bellaren was the best soldier and leader of his troops since Peter Janadexiand. He was more than capable of defending himself. He was trained since birth, to be a lethal weapon. There was no one Crimson had met that could have bested Bellaren.

“He was stabbed and killed during his stay at the tavern in the village of Plurium. He was found dead this morning. We do not know by whom. The wound look like it was from a sword. But there was only a dagger embedded in his back. The dagger was stabbed through a piece of parchment.” Klinea handed Crimson a blood stained piece of paper. The paper crinkled in his gloved hand. It read: The Assassin bids you adieu. The curvy handwriting almost made it barely legible. As if whoever wrote this was in a hurry. “Sir, we do not know what it means. Who is The Assassin?”

The Assassin. An assassin for hire. Must be very skilled to have been able to kill Bellaren in his sleep. “The Assassin. Is that his title? What is his name?”

Klinea dipped his head in regret. “Sire, we do not know if it is a man or woman, or if it is one person or many. There have been no clues other than this one. There has only been this recent killing that has been brought to our attention.”

“Are you saying, soldier, that there are killings everyday? Only that we do know about them?” asked Allura.

“Of course, milady. It could be from this Assassin, or other assassins, or just the drunks that decide to kill their other drunk friends.”

Allura looked over at her husband, hoping for an explanation. He grasped her hand, to ease her worry. Of course it’s a man. No woman is that powerful. He thought. “Send out Wanted Posters. I want this Assassin found. They are a threat to us and our country. When they are found, bring them to me. Put the reward at one hundred silvers… No, three hundred.”

“Sire, forgive me for asking. However, we do not know how this person looks, how will it be known what to draw? What will I tell the artist?” Crimson didn’t respond. There was no lead to this mysterious person. There must have been at least one person close enough to Belleran.

Karlen was a very private man. Didn’t have any life other than following orders. Never had any lovers, despite the women that practically threw themselves over him. However, recently he hasn’t been staying at the soldiers’ barracks. He said he was staying at the tavern. That was all he said. Perhaps he had a lover, but never said anything.

“Who was in the room with the general that night? Any maids? Women? Men? Lovers?”

“The innkeeper said that Bellaren was only seen with his partner and lover, Anna Marez. She and all her belongings was gone by the time he was found.”

“Why did she leave?”

“Perhaps Karlen told her to run, and he died defending her.” It would seem like an honourable death. Defending a young woman from danger.

“However, she was the only one who was in the room. Put her face on the posters. She is our prime suspect. I will avenge my general’s death.”

“Understood, Your Majesty. But who is Anna Marez? I’ve never heard of the family of Marez.”

“Neither have I…” How could they put the face of a ghost on Wanted Posters? “Go find out who this Anna Marez is. What she did, what her life was, how she met Bellaren, who her parents were. I want to know everything I can about this Anna. Report back to me, then get the artist to draw what you could find.” The knight nodded, and left. “Everyone here, leave us.” Slowly, the butler, maids and other servants exited the hall. Only Crimson and his wife remained in the empty throne room.

Crimson rubbed the space in between his eyebrows. “I don’t understand why someone would want to murder my general. He had no sins.”

Allura shrugged. “I don’t know, sire. Perhaps someone had a grudge that was never spoke of. It’s always a possibility.”

“You think so?”

Allura’s face turned dark. “I know so.” Waving her hand over Crimson’s face, she pulled out a glowing strand of magik. His life force.

Her eyes gleamed a bright red, very much unlike the emerald eyes she was known for. There was no hint of the woman Crimson loved and married.

Allura pinched the ends, and ripped of the end. She crushed it between the pads of her fingers, it crushed into a fine powder. Placing the rest of his life force into a glass flask, she sealed it.

“Your life is now in my hands, husband. You step a toe out of line, and your kingdom won’t have a king anymore. You will obey my every command. Everything I tell you, you will do, say, execute. You won’t remember what happened, but you will know that I control you. Now and forever.” She gathered the powder in her palm, and blew. The powder exploded in a dusty cloud over Crimson’s face. When the dust cleared, he opened his eyes.

His eyes had turned from blue to red.

The colour matched hers exactly.